The declining trend of fossil fuel reserves and the pollution detriment caused by fossil fuel burning has brought the development urgency for the renewable green energy. Among all renewable resources, biomass is the only carbon source which can be converted into solid, liquid and gaseous products through pyrolysis/gasification processes. However, processes for making fuel from biomass, e.g. the Mobile traditional methanol-to-gasoline process, produce high concentration of multi-ring durene and other multi-methyl substituted aromatic compounds that result in undesired soot formation and engine deposit. For biodiesel fuels derived from fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), their higher surface tension, lower volatility and higher specific gravity lead to larger droplet size and thus more wall impingement of the fuel during injection in the combustion chamber. This results in higher levels of fuel dilution as the oil is scraped down into the crankcase by the scraper ring.
Additionally, one of the major environmental problems confronting the United States and other countries is atmospheric pollution (i.e., “smog”) caused by the emission of gaseous pollutants in the exhaust gases from automobiles. This problem is especially acute in major metropolitan areas, such as Los Angeles, Calif., where the atmospheric conditions and the great number of automobiles account for aggravated air pollution. It is well known that the three primary gaseous constituents, or pollutants, which contribute to air pollution due to auto exhaust are nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and unburned or incompletely burned hydrocarbons (i.e., hydrocarbon components originally present in the gasoline fuel which are not fully converted to carbon monoxide or dioxide and water during combustion in the automobile engine). Considerable efforts have been spent through a partnership including resources of government, industry and institute of higher learning to significantly reduce NOx (nitrogen oxides), COx (carbon oxides) and PM (particulate matter) emissions while maintaining the superior advantage in fuel economy of road vehicles. As such, Congress and regulatory authorities, such as CARB (the California Air Resources Board), have focused on setting specifications for low emissions gasoline and diesel. The specifications, however, require the presence of oxygenates in gasoline sold in areas that are not in compliance with federal ambient air quality standards for ozone, and the degree of non-attainment is classified as severe, or extreme. Among the emissions which the reformulated gasoline is designed to reduce, are NOx, hydrocarbons, and toxics (benzene, 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde and acetaldehyde). A reduction in these emissions has been targeted due to their obvious impact upon the air we breathe and the environment in general.
Therefore, there is a need for clean burning synthetic fuel (synfuel) that meets regulatory requirements. This is especially advantageous when the fuel can be made directly without being blended.